Think big. No, bigger. OK, now supersize that. Now double
it.
Get the idea? If not, think again. Sometimes you need to
shoot for the moon. Even if you fall far short you most likely will have gotten
further than many others and certainly further than your previous efforts.
Although most of your time should be spent on hitting your
core market in predictable, risk-free, conventional ways, some of your time
should be spent looking for a breakthrough, a knockout punch, a Super Bowl
berth, a lottery win. Heaven. So what does such an ambitious approach look like?
It should:
·
Feel
new to you.
·
Have
an element of risk.
·
Have
a huge payoff if successful.
·
Seem
strange, yet recognizable.
·
Be
crazy and off the wall and not so logical.
·
Be
experimental and not based on data and facts.
·
Appeal
to your gut instinct – it should feel right.
·
Make
you nervous, but not neurotic.
Your marketing miracle could be approaching people with a
pitch that at first seems controversial, one that if remembered and catches on,
will be successful, and if it fails you will have egg on your face. You can
limit the downside by avoiding slogans or visuals that would expose you to
criticism of being racist, sexist, etc. but that doesn’t mean you cannot be
daring. Being creative doesn’t mean you
have to insult someone or force people to choose sides – it means saying
something in a way people have not thought of before.
But the things that get people’s attention are the things
that polarize people – religion, sex, politics, money, race and competitive
areas such as sports teams, industry rankings, nationalism, etc. If you can
make people think, laugh, feel, and take notice of what you have to say, you
will be on your way to a breakthrough.
A good message, delivered in an ad, a speech, a blog, etc.
is really like a puzzle or code. Some kind of combination of words and images
will get someone’s attention. There is no mathematical formula to formulate a
winning message but there are some proven ways and means to connect with
people.
This is what a great message should be:
This is what a great message should be:
1.
It
starts with the very words you use – and how many you use.
2.
It
revolves around the image you seek to conjure up, including any visuals
attached to your words.
3.
It
gets wrapped up in design – fonts, colors, space, etc.
4.
It
coincides with timing – the message should match the current mood of people. No
one wants to hear about umbrellas unless it’s raining but they will be open to
a warm and fuzzy message around Thanksgiving Day, so take into account the
public consciousness at the time of your pitch.
5.
It
comes down to speaking to people’s wants and needs. Take it a step further. What
is the dream, the fantasy, the ideal of perfection? What do people need, fear,
love, have to have, or fight to avoid? Appeal to what really moves people.
Tap into people’s passions. Don’t you perk up when someone
discusses the things that you find meaningful, important, rewarding,
fulfilling, and exciting? Your pitch should be like an action-adventure movie
trailer – take people to where you want to lead them. They are following you on
a great escape.
It doesn’t matter what your book is about or your area of
expertise. It is presumably about something that some group of people will
benefit from if they read it. All you need to do is raise the stakes and
explore the extremes. Play into people’s egos, for one.
Here is an example. If I was to advertise a seminar on how
to write a book and get published I would find the words to state the extremes
and ideals.
·
I
won’t tell you just how to get published, but how to get a multi-book deal!
·
I
won’t stop at getting you published. I will make you a best-selling author.
·
That’s
not enough. Here is how to convert your book fame into consulting gigs or a new
job – your dream job, of course.
·
As
a successful author you will transition into other areas – DVD’s, software,
theater – who knows?
·
Learn
how to make money writing, researching and selling information.
You get the idea. Elevate the stakes. Take a goal and turn
it into gold – into the maximum extreme. Now, caution, you don’t want your ad
to read like an overhyped, get-rich-quick scheme. You merely want to create excitement
and drive them to visualize the ideal or best result possible. No one will run
to buy something that only moderately improves their situation. They want to
hear that they can break through and soar, that they have a chance to win big.
You cannot use wishy washy language that sounds conservative, non-committing or
doubtful. Go full throttle in a direction that leaves the reader feeling
foolish for passing up such an opportunity.
DON”T
MISS THESE!!!
How authors get
their book marketing mojo – and avoid failure
Authors cannot succeed
without the right attitude
So what is needed to be a champion book marketer?
Should You Promote Your
Book By Yourself?
The Book Marketing Strategies Of Best-Sellers
How authors can sell more books
No. 1 Book Publicity Resource: 2019 Toolkit For Authors
-- FREE
Brian Feinblum’s insightful views, provocative opinions, and
interesting ideas expressed in this terrific blog are his alone and not that of
his employer or anyone else. You can – and should -- follow him on Twitter
@theprexpert and email him at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels much more
important when discussed in the third-person. This is copyrighted by
BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©2019. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in
Westchester. His writings are often featured in The Writer and
IBPA’s Independent. This was named one of the best book marketing
blogs by Book Baby http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs and recognized by Feedspot in 2018 as one of the
top book marketing blogs. Also named by WinningWriters.com as a "best
resource.” He recently hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America.
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